I thought I'd share a few of the ones that had an impact on me and a few of the ones I love simply because they're outrageously bad but have a special place in my cold, black heart.
The ones that had the biggest impact on me are:
- The Evil Dead: I was super young when I saw it. In fact this was my first horror movie. I was at a sleepover and Evil Dead was put in the VCR. Have you seen it? Can you imagine what you would have thought of it if you'd seen it before you were 10? But thanks to this movie, Bruce Campbell is the legend he is today.
- The Watcher in the Woods: I then backtracked a bit and saw this Disney approved scary movie. Boy did I love it. This was one of those movies that I watched quite often during my childhood. I'd love to watch it now to see if it holds up.
It has a phenomenal cast (the chick from Ice Castles , Bette Davis and even a Real Housewife).
- Poltergeist: Any child of the 80s should have good memories of this movie. I was probably scared the first time I saw it but loved it so much that I watched it over and over and over.
- It: Stupid clowns.
- Halloween: I can't remember how old I was when I saw this but I know it was pre-high school for sure. This is my dad's favorite scary movie and for good reason. In fact, my dad, who was a minister at the time, snuck out at Halloween after the town's curfew and went to people's back doors. He heard a few screams and had a few doors slammed in his face. Twisted man.
- The Shining: I read the book a couple of years before I saw the movie. I didn't need to put it in the freezer like Joey did but I do remember having to walk away from it a couple of times. Even though I read the book and knew what was going to happen, I still watched the movie with the covers over half my face. I was home alone that night too.
- The Silence of the Lambs: My memories of this start off with a giggle. My friend and I made my mom drive us to the theater to see it. My mom decided to stay and see it too since she had heard good things. My friend and I were teenagers asserting our independence so we made my mom sit by herself. The theater was packed so my poor mother was surrounded by strangers with no one to grab onto. I remember sitting in the movie theater with my knees folded up under my chin in a sort of upright fetal position. This was the movie that made me fall out of love with slasher films and in love with the psychological thriller.
- El Orfanato: Old age and lots of slasher films jaded me over the years so I don't really get scared at movies anymore. This one, produced by movie god, Guillermo del Toro, took me back to being really freaked out though. It's such a good movie that Hollywood is remaking it. Of course. Rent the original. It's really beautifully done.
Ok, so the ones that aren't great but I will love forever:
- Shocker: Bear with me. It's a movie about a serial killer who builds up his tolerance to electricity so that when he gets caught and is inevitably given the electric chair for his heinous deeds, he doesn't die. Nope, he becomes electric or something and then inexplicably ends up jumping in and out of random people while chasing the football player kid who turned him in. My friend Kristen and I used to rent this when we couldn't find anything else to watch. It's hilarious. Guess what else? It's written and directed by esteemed scary movie director, Wes Craven.
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| If, for some reason, you Google this flick, be sure to include the word "movie" in your search. Trust me. |
- The Hellraiser movies: I also watched these with my friend Kristen. In fact we used to watch tons of scary movies together. C'mon! The main bad guy's name is Pinhead! Plus they made me jump. A lot.
- Sleepaway Camp: This is another disturbing one that I saw waaaaayyyy too young. Seriously. It's nasty.
- Children of the Corn movies: My friend Angela and I watched these a lot. In fact at one point we were trying to convince our friends we had actual crushes on Isaac and Malachai.
Of course I loved the first few Freddy and Jason movies. I leaned way more towards Freddy though. He had such style and panache. Then they just kept rolling out sequels, joint sequels, Jason got sent into space and it got beyond ridiculous. I had high hopes for the Freddy reboot but didn't bother with it when it got horrible reviews. It's too bad.
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